Reports said the company hopes the tool will boost reliability of supply chain operations. The KN ESP solution has also integrated predictive analytics and artificial intelligence technologies for users on the platform to make more strategic transportation decisions and to optimize existing orders.

K+N board member Otto Schacht said the company wants to “eliminate communication frictions no matter how many systems or players are involved.” That means addressing friction in order negotiating, invoice movement, logistics, quality control and sourcing, reports said.

A survey from Convey and eft Supply Chain & Logistics Business Intelligence released last year found 70 percent of supply chain professionals want to enhance decision-making on in-transit issues. That means easier communication with carriers, the report found, with industry professionals also prioritizing access to data regarding in-transit shipments, as well as “bidirectional communication” with partners on the supply chain.

Separate research from MarketsandMarkets estimated the supply chain management and technology industry will experience a 19.8 percent CAGR through 2021, hitting a valuation of more than $8 billion by the end of the period. That growth is fueled by greater demand for cloud-based solutions and enhanced transparency.

The financial benefits of improved supply chain management are vast, according to the Confederation of British Industry, which said last year better supply chain management could add more than $37 billion to the U.K.’s economy alone.